Davydenko topples Isner

Nikolay Davydenko roared back into form with a straight-sets win over No. 1 seed John Isner in the quarter-finals of the Open de Nice.

Big-serving American Isner powered down 13 aces, but Davydenko found a way to combat the threat in a 6-4 7-6(4) win.

Brian Baker held his nerve in a third set tiebreak to beat Mikhail Kukushkin 4-6 6-3 7-6(4).

The home crowd in Nice had plenty to cheer, as No. 2 seed Gilles Simon was too good for Thomaz Bellucci.

Brazilian qualifier Bellucci matched Simon in the opening set, but he could not get a read on his opponent's serve. Simon did not face a break point and after edging the opener, he ran away with the match to claim a 7-5 6-0 win.

Up next for Simon is Spanish No. 3 seed Nicolas Almagro, who eased to a 6-4 6-4 win over Steve Darcis.

United States secured a 2-1 win over Japan in the World Team Cup in Dusseldorf. Ryan Harrison proved too good for Tatsuma Ito and Harrison and James Blake beat Ito and Bumpei Sato to secure the win, before Go Soeda claimed a 7-5 7-6 (4) win over Andy Roddick.

Also in the Red Group, Tomas Berdych claimed a 6-1 6-7(2) 6-3 win over Carlos Berlocq to hand Czech Republic a 1-0 lead over Argentina.